Seymour Lachman… What a book. My wife bought it for me as a Birthday present, yes I turned 53 Wednesday. But, Lachman confirms everything I have been saying about Albany for a decade. I even wrote an article 5 years ago laying grounds as to file a Lawsuit against Albany.
I spoke to him Tuesday and he will be coming to Buffalo, hopefully for speaking engagement, time on local radio shows and a book signing. I am just in the beginning stages of putting this whole thing together.
Everyone needs to read this book. Buy it on Amazon cheap.
Former Legislator Writes Tell All About Albany’s Dysfunction
“Today, we are in many ways a laughingstock of the nation,” says Seymour Lachman.
When it comes to how New York State government functions, or it’s dysfunction, Lachman knows first-hand of what he speaks.
He spent nine years in the state senate representing Brooklyn before he says leaving in disgust four years ago.
He then wrote an insider’s tell-all book titled “Three Men In A Room.”
Lachman says everything in state government, from what’s in the budget
to which bills get passed is controlled by those three men who meet
behind closed doors: the governor, the speaker of the assembly and the
senate majority leader.
“My last budget, the Chairman of the Finance Committee presented 2,340
pages of the budget. I had never seen it. And he said ‘ok guys, this
has been approved by the speaker and the majority leader, you go out
and vote on this in 20 minutes,’” says Lachman.
Scott Brown: “Did you have any idea of what was in there?”
Lachman: “No, how can you? I had no idea of what was in there.”
Brown: “Do rank and file members have any real power in Albany?”
Lachman: “No, not really.”
Indeed, the two leaders in the legislature have near absolute power over their members.
They control everything from:
* What committees lawmakers sit on;
* Whether they receive stipends of tens of thousands of dollars in
addition to their salary that come with committee leadership positions;
* How large their office and staffs are.;
* How much money they’ll receive for projects in their district;
* To how much money they’ll get from their party for their re-election campaigns.
Lachman says the leaders keep an iron-fisted control through a carrot and stick approach.
“I was put on the Finance Committee and I was told by one of the
leaders after taking an independent vote that ‘look Lachman you have
all the skills and background, you can rise to the top or sink to the
bottom, which would you rather have?’”
Brown: “And was it simply a question of whether you’d play ball or not?”
Lachman: “That’s right. Whether I would play ball on every bill that’s important to the leadership.”
And most members of the assembly and the senate do play ball.
Rest of transcript here……….
Tags: Book Reviews
